Skipper Rohit Sharma pointed out the poor efforts by his bowlers and fielders as the reasons for India`s four-wicket defeat to World Champions Australia in the opening T20I match of the three-match series here on Tuesday.
Though the batters did well, especially Hardik Pandya (71 not out), who made a late charge with three sixes off the last three deliveries of the innings, K.L Rahul (55) and Suryakumar Yadav (46), which helped the host reach 208/6 in 20 overs -- their highest score in a T20 against Australia.
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But the visitors chased the target easily, thanks to Cameron Green (61 off 30), a 35 of 24 by Steve Smith and a 45 not out by Matthew Wade as they reached 211/6 in 19.2 overs.
Rohit said, his bowlers did not bowl well despite defending a big total.
"I don`t think we bowled that well. 200 is a good score to defend and at the same time, we didn`t take our chances on the field. That`s about it," Rohit Sharma said during the post-match ceremony at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium here.
Rohit said it was all a matter of taking one wicket between Wade and Tim David to seal victory in the match.
"For us, it was just about that one wicket between Wade and Tim David. And we were not able to do that. I think they got a 60-odd partnership in 32 balls, which was a turning point from their perspective," said Rohit.
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The India skipper the defeat makes the match a great opportunity to understand what went wrong and where the team faltered.
"I think we batted brilliantly to get to that score. It was a great game for us to understand where we went wrong and what we can do better in the next game," he said.
Coming to the match, after being put to bat first by Australia, India lost skipper Rohit Sharma (11) and Virat Kohli (2) for cheap scores. This left Men in Blue struggling at 35/2. KL Rahul (55) and Suryakumar Yadav (46) then stabilised the innings with a 68-run stand. Then, Hardik Pandya played a brilliant knock of 71* off just 30 balls with seven fours and five sixes to finish the innings at 208/6.
Pacers Nathan Ellis (3/30) and Josh Hazlewood (2/39) were the most successful Aussie bowlers. Chasing 209, openers Aaron Finch (22) and Cameron Green stitched a quickfire 39-run stand to get Australia off to a solid start. Green played some really impressive strokes and stitched a 70-run stand with Steve Smith (35). Green was dismissed for an impressive 61 off 30 balls.
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Following this, Men in Blue made a comeback to the match, getting wickets of Smith, Glenn Maxwell (1) and Josh Inglis (17) within a space of just 36 runs. But wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade (45*) and debutant Tim David (18) stitched a 62-run stand to help the Aussies win the match by four wickets, finishing the innings at 211/6. Cameron Green was adjudged as `Man of the Match` for his 61 and 1/46.
